feat: add changelog and update relevant files

Author: ChengShi-1

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to **Dataverse Client Javascript** are documented here.
+
+This changelog follows the principles of [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/) and adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/). This document is intended for developers, contributors, and users who need to understand the technical details.
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+
+### Changed
+
+### Fixed
+
+### Removed
+
+---
+
+## [v2.0.0] -- 2025-07-04
+
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse-frontend/compare/v2.0.0...develop

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -16,6 +16,20 @@ First of all thank you very much for your interest in contributing to this proje
 - Unit and integration tests pass
 - Unit and integration tests for new functionality/fix are added
 - Documentation is updated (Any new use case added or modified should be documented in the [Use Cases](./docs/useCases.md) section)
+- Changelog is updated with your changes in the `[Unreleased]` section of [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md)
+
+## Maintaining the Changelog
+
+We follow the [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/) format for our changelog. When contributing:
+
+1. **Add your changes to the `[Unreleased]` section** at the top of `CHANGELOG.md`
+2. **Categorize your changes** under the appropriate headings:
+   - **Added** for new features
+   - **Changed** for changes in existing functionality
+   - **Removed** for now removed features
+   - **Fixed** for any bug fixes
+3. **Write clear, concise descriptions** that help users understand the impact of changes
+4. **Include relevant issue numbers** when applicable
 
 ## Code of Conduct
 

README.md

@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ For detailed information about available use cases see [Use Cases Docs](https://
 
 For detailed information about usage see [Usage Docs](https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse-client-javascript/blob/main/docs/usage.md).
 
+## Changelog
+
+See [CHANGELOG.md](https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse-client-javascript/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md) for a detailed history of changes to this project.
+
 ## Contributing
 
 Want to add a new use case or improve an existing one? Please check the [Contributing](https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse-client-javascript/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) section.

docs/making-releases.md

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 - [Regular or Hotfix?](#regular-or-hotfix)
 - [Create Github Issue and Release Branch](#create-github-issue-and-release-branch)
 - [Update the version](#update-the-version)
+- [Update the changelog](#update-the-changelog)
 - [Merge "release branch" into "main"](#merge-release-branch-into-main)
 - [Publish the Dataverse Client Javascript package](#publish-the-dataverse-client-javascript-package)
 - [Create a Draft Release on GitHub and Tag the Version](#create-a-draft-release-on-github-and-tag-the-version)
@@ -42,6 +43,52 @@ This command will update the version in the `package.json` and `package-lock.jso
 
 If everything looks good, you can push the changes to the repository.
 
+## Update the changelog
+
+**Note**: Contributors should have already added their changes to the `[Unreleased]` section as part of their pull requests (see [CONTRIBUTING.md](../.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#changelog-guidelines) for details).
+
+Before releasing, ensure the changelog is properly prepared:
+
+1. **Review the [Unreleased] section** in `CHANGELOG.md` and `packages/design-system/CHANGELOG.md`
+2. **Move entries from [Unreleased] to the new version section**:
+
+   ```markdown
+   ## [vX.X.X] -- YYYY-MM-DD
+
+   ### Added
+
+   - Feature descriptions from unreleased section
+
+   ### Changed
+
+   - Changes from unreleased section
+
+   ### Fixed
+
+   - Bug fixes from unreleased section
+
+   ### Removed
+
+   - Removals from unreleased section
+   ```
+
+3. **Clear the [Unreleased] section** but keep the structure:
+
+   ```markdown
+   ## [Unreleased]
+
+   ### Added
+
+   ### Changed
+
+   ### Fixed
+
+   ### Removed
+   ```
+
+4. **Update the version links** at the bottom of the changelog files
+5. **Commit the changelog updates** as part of the release preparation
+
 ## Merge "release branch" into "main"
 
 Create a pull request to merge the `release` branch into the `main` branch.
@@ -96,7 +143,7 @@ Go to https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse-client-javascript/releases/new to start
 
 - Under "Release title" use the same name as the tag such as v3.5.0.
 
-- Add a description of the changes included in this release. You should include a link to the recently published npm version and summarize the key updates, fixes, or features.
+- Add a description of the changes included in this release. You should include a link to the recently published npm version and summarize the key updates, fixes, or features. You can copy the content from the corresponding version section in `CHANGELOG.md` for consistency.
 
 - Click "Save draft" because we do not want to publish the release yet.